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Anxiety Sensitivity

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Adolescence

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Overview

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a cognitive individual difference factor involving an enduring fear of anxiety-related arousal sensations (e.g., increased heart rate) that arises from the tendency to catastrophize about these sensations, believing they will have serious psychological, physiological, and/or social consequences. AS may have particular relevance for adolescents as the onset of puberty heralds the arrival of a wide range of new and unexpected bodily sensations, as well as changes in cognitive and social development. Research has implicated AS in the development and maintenance of a number of mental health disorders in adolescents including panic disorder, social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, substance misuse, and depression. Furthermore, AS has been shown to be composed of several lower-order factors (e.g., Physical, Social, and Psychological Concerns), which may have unique associations with psychopathology. Understanding AS will help in the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Janine V. Olthuis & Elizabeth N. McLaughlin

  2. Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Sherry H. Stewart

  3. Pediatric Health Psychology, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Elizabeth N. McLaughlin

  4. Department of Psychology, Saint Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Margo C. Watt

Authors
  1. Janine V. Olthuis
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  2. Sherry H. Stewart
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  3. Elizabeth N. McLaughlin
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  4. Margo C. Watt
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Correspondence to Janine V. Olthuis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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Olthuis, J.V., Stewart, S.H., McLaughlin, E.N., Watt, M.C. (2011). Anxiety Sensitivity. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_270

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